Manurewa mother Arishma Archana Singh likely knew her killer and allowed the person into her home, police say.

Singh, 24, was found dead in her Maich Rd home yesterday.

It has been revealed that Singh, also known as Chand, arrived home from a friend's birthday party at 12.45am on Sunday.

She was with her boyfriend but he did not stay.

READ MORE: Homicide victim may have disturbed intruder

Soon after he left the property Singh called her parents Rakesh and Aradhana Singh and said she could hear a noise outside and she was worried.

They were out visiting relatives but rushed home.

When they got inside they found Singh dead.

Arishma Singh, also known as Chand, was killed in her home on Sunday morning. Photo / Supplied

Detective Inspector Gary Lendrum said there was a 20-minute window between Singh's boyfriend leaving and her parents arriving home.

He said it was not clear what the young mum heard outside, or why she was scared - but a large number of police were now trying to piece together her final minutes.

Addressing media at a press conference, Lendrum said Singh had "obvious injuries" which led them to launch a homicide investigation.

Earlier Singh's family had been told it was possible she had come home and interrupted an intruder.

However Lendrum now believed that was not the case.

He explained there was no forced entry to the Maich Rd house, nothing was disturbed.

That led investigators to believe Singh knew her killer and had let the person into her home.

"We don't believe that this is a random attack," Lendrum said.

Police at the scene of a homicide on Maich Road in Manurewa on Sunday morning. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Can you help?

Any witnesses should contact the Counties Manukau Police on 09 261 1321.

To pass information to police anonymously, they could call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.